Converter



April 1s, 1939. A, T THOMPSON 2,154,876

CONVERTER Filed March 31, 1937 gmc/Wto@ 7.7 YZO/Wam Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT oFFlcE Application March 31,

2 Claims.

The invention relates to converters in -which a gas, for instance solid carbon dioxide is placed and allowed to sublime and gasify for forming a carbon dioxide gas to be utilized for various purposes, for instance in connection with soda fountains, and has for its object to provide a device of this character having a bottom lll opening relatively large and through which solid carbon dioxide may be passed, and a closure for said opening.

A further object is to form the lling opening relatively large so that the container may be easily cleaned and sterilized before the iilling operation, thereby avoiding a difficulty now experienced with tubes and converters of this type.

Aifurther object is to provide a carbon dioxide tube or cylinder with a bottom ll opening, thereby allowing the tube or cylinder to be serviced without collecting the tube or cylinder and conveying the same to a central plant as is now the practice. The bottom ll allows the upper end of the tube or cylinder to receive a discharge valve.

A further object is to provide a converter cover disposed within the chamber of the converter and provided with a flange engaging a gasket surrounding the lling opening and a portion extending into the filling opening, and a plate threaded into the filling opening portion of the closure and cooperating with the outer side of the receptacle, whereby, when the plate is rotated, the closure flange will be forced into engagement with the gasket.

A further object is to dispose the thread of the closure plate adjacent the gasket, whereby a uniform pressure will be applied to the gasket when the plate is tightened.

A further object is to provide the closure plate with interengaging connection to the receptacle body, thereby obvia'ting distortion of the gasket upon the initial tightening of the rotatable plate.

With the above and other objects in View the invention resides .in the combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawing, described and claimed, iL being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing fromrthe invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view partially in elevation and partly in vertical cross section showing the bottom closure for the cylinder.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on'llne 2-2 of Figure 1.

1937, serial No. 134,192

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the cylinder.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a double packing means.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional View taken `on line 5 5 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates the cylindrical body of the converter and 2 the chamber therein. The upper end of the body is provided with a conventional form of discharge valve 3 for discharging gas from l0 the converter for use, for instance to a soda fountain for carbonating beverages.

The present device is intended to be serviced 'from time to time at its point of use, thereby avoiding the necessity of shipping cylinders 16 when they become empty to a central recharging plant. In converters of this character, it is desirable to charge the same from the bottom 4 so the discharge valve 3 may be located on the upper end of the cylinder, rather than its side, 20 hence the converters may be easily packed for shipment without danger of the valves becoming damaged.

The bottom 4 is provided with a relatively large filling opening 5, which allows large blocks 25 of carbon dioxide to be placed Within the chamber 2 of the converter. The large opening has an additional feature, in that it allows ready access to the interior of the converter for washing and sterillzing purposes. The converters are formed in any suitable manner, for instance spinning, and at which time the bottom 4 can be formed after the drawing operation of the cylinder as a whole, therefore it will be seen that the closure plate 6' may be placed within the chamber 2.

The closure plate 6 is provided with an annular flange 1, whichengages an annular gasket 8 surrounding the filling opening 5 and is adapted to compress said gasket to prevent escape of the gases as the solid carbon dioxide liquefes and gasies to create a high pressure within. the cylinder. The cover plate 6 is provided with a cylindrical portion 9, which is rotatably mounted within the filling opening 5 and is preferably of a. size to entirely fill the opening so there will not be any transverse distortion of the annular gasket B during the tightening operation. To prevent circumferential distortion of the annular gasket 50 8, the inner side of the bottom 4 is provided with a lug I0, which is received within a recess I I carried by the cover plate 6 and in combination with the cylindrical portion 9 of the cover plate in the opening 5, prevents circumferential distortion of the gasket during the cover tigl'itening operation.

'The under side of the cover plate d is provided with. a cylindrical chamber l2 having its side wall threaded as at i3, and in which chamber i2 is threaded the cylindrical threaded portion ifi of the 'tightening plate l5. it will be noted that the iiange i5 of the tightening plate is disposed the counterbore il in the bottom d, hence it will be seen that when a Spanner wrench is The cover plate 6 is preferably of a captivel type, and is anchored to the eye i9 within the chamber 2. by means of a chain 20, hence it will be seen the operator will be able to reach the cover for closing the opening 5, and if desired may utilize a tool, which may be threaded into the threaded opening 2| in the cover. The outer face of the rotatable plate i 5 is flush with the bottom of the receptacle l, hence it will not interfere with the device standing in a vertical position as shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 4 wherein a modied form of the device is shown, in-this form an additional l gasket 8a is utilized, and which gasket is disposedl in the channel I1, and extends across the engaging parts of the cylindrical portion 9 of the cover 6 and the bottom of the channel I1, thereby additionally sealing the only possible Way of 40 escape for the expanding gases. It will be noted aisaere that the expanding gases will additionally seat the cover d, as the pressure is relatively high, particularly where carbon dioxide is used.

ln nlling the device the cylinder is tilted or lnverted and the rotatable plate l5 is unscrewed from its position. This action allows the cover 6 to swing into the chamber l?, and the chamber 2 may be sterilized if desired, as the opening 5 is relatively large. After the sterilizing operation, solid carbon dioxide is placed within the chamber i2 and the cover placed in position by a tool or manually if desired, and the cylinder is then placed in an inclined or vertical position and the clamping plate it) is then screwed to position.

From the above it will be seen that a converter tank is provided of the bottom fill type with a cover or closure which will positively seal the closure, and one wherein access niay be easily and quickly had to the chamber of the cylinder for refilling or sterilizing purposes.

The invention having been rset forth what is claimed as new and useful is:

l. A receptacle lling opening closure, said closure comprising an inner cover plate, an outer cover plate, a reduced portion carried by the inner cover plate and extendinginto the filling opening, a gasket interposed between the inner cover plate and the adjacent portion of the cylinder around the lling opening, an outer plate disposed n a counterbore around the illing opening at the outer side thereof and a cylindrical threaded portion carried by the outer plate and threaded into a chamber in the outer side of the inner cover plate.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 including an annular gasket interposed between the inner and outer plates and extending into the counterbore and forming a seal between the engaging surfaces of the plates and counterbore.

ALBERT T. THOMPSON. 

